MLB Suspends Ryan Braun 65 Games for PEDs, Has A-Rod in their Crosshairs

Major League Baseball has suspended Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braunwithout pay for the remainder of the 2013 season for his connections to the Biogenesis clinic in Miami run by Anthony Bosch.

This amounts to 65 games, 50 of which are for the use of performance enhancing drugs, while the other 15 are for lying to MLB during the grievance process that overturned the suspension handed out to him in 2011. In total, Braun will lose $3.25 million in salary, as well as whatever remained of his reputation.

Here’s what he had to say:

“As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect. I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions… I wish to apologize to anyone I may have disappointed — all of the baseball fans especially those in Milwaukee, the great Brewers organization, and my teammates. I am glad to have this matter behind me once and for all, and I cannot wait to get back to the game I love.”

That MLB has suspended one of its biggest stars—the 2011 National League MVP—is a big deal. But what’s more significant is the manner in which it came about.

At his first meeting with MLB about the Biogenesis case on June 29, Braun refused to answer any questions. However, sources told ESPN’s Outside the Lines that he subsequently requested a second meeting because he realized the evidence against him was overwhelming and he wanted to make a deal that would limit his suspension to this season.

In effect, Braun and MLB worked out a plea bargain. By agreeing to the punishment, Braun validated the evidence the league has against the players involved with the Biogenesis clinic, thereby making their case against everyone else stronger (and apparently, the evidence against Alex Rodriguez is even more substantial than that against Braun). In turn, Braun’s suspension is shorter than it might have otherwise been, and he gets this ridiculously kind statement from MLB:

“We commend Ryan Braun for taking responsibility for his past actions. We all agree that it is in the best interests of the game to resolve this matter. When Ryan returns, we look forward to him making positive contributions to Major League Baseball, both on and off the field.”

Keep in mind that Braun made MLB look foolish in 2012 when he got his positive drug test overturned on a technicality, and they’ve been gunning for him ever since. The fact that they now have such kind words for this guy can only be the result of a deal.

In any case, MLB is going to be suspending even more players in the coming days or weeks, and the players who did not cooperate—such as A-Roid and the Rangers’ Nelson Cruz—are going to get hit hard.

Oh, and just in case you’re saying to yourself, “what was it Braun said back in 2012 after he beat the PED rap?” — here you go:

It’s pretty hard to watch that and not mumble, “lying douche,” isn’t it?